I recently had the opportunity to have met a woman to whom I was teaching Italian. After teaching the lesson one day, she revealed that she was not feeling well. I took this opportunity to listen intently to why she felt this way. She stated that she suffered from hypothyroidism. My first reaction was to ask her if she was getting the proper amount of iodine, an essential trace mineral nutrient in her diet since iodine is needed to produce the thyroid hormone, thyroxine. She began to ask me what she could eat that contained iodine. I immediately responded with a good quality grey sea salt like Real Salt, seaweed in moderation and shellfish such as shrimp, clams and oysters which, by the way, were also good sources of zinc and vitamin B12. She asked me where she could find seaweed. I told her she could shop for it at a health food store or Wholefoods store. I gave her the names of some seaweed, kombu, wakame, arame and hijiki being the most common. At the same time, I suggested she make sure she was consuming enough quality protein in her diet. I suggested quinoa, which is actually considered a seed and not a grain. I prepared some quinoa salad as well as seaweed salad for her to sample. Both of these dishes are nutrient power houses. Not only do they contain quinoa and seaweed, which are both considered superfoods in the diet but they also contain fresh garlic and ginger which are antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial. Finally, I mentioned to steer away from cruciferous vegetables such as kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower which, although nutritious foods, contain goitrogens which interfere with the thyroid’s metabolism and can produce goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) when eaten in large amounts.
